The Way to a Happy Ending
by prom hater
Summary: Ten years after highscool, Pacey & Joey are yet to finish bantering, fighting, kissing , & doing everything else inbetween. The gang grows tired of the never- ending love story so they try to help set things right.
1. Default Chapter

The Way to a Happy Ending

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the concept of  Dawson's Creek. I believe it belongs to a certain genius namely one Kevin Williamson.  I would also like to acknowledge WB and the others for whom without, the most brilliant idea of the century won't be what it is now: my obsession. Other than deliriously thinking (in a weird and twisted kinda way) I own Josh I have nothing of value so please don't sue. I am a mere sixteen year old girl who desperately needs to satisfy her immediate psychological and emotional urges of  putting into writing her daydreams about fictional characters (and also because she has nothing better to do on a Friday night).     

A/N: Set After the final episode, everything is the same except Jen didn't die

Chapter one: 

Rrrring….Rrrring…Rrrring….Rrrri-

The petite blonde stretched her body across the sleeping figure beside her and reached for the phone. "Hello? Joey? Do you have any idea what time it is…what happened now? Yeah…uh huh…but don- look…Jo- Joey…yes…Joey listen to me….of course….Joey calm down. We'll talk about this in the morning when we all had our _rest_. At the time being… make him sleep on the couch or something. Okay… sure. Bye."  The girl placed the phone back into its cradle and she let her head fall back hard on her pillow. She tried to go back to sleep but from experience she knew she can no longer do that. After a few seconds of staring blankly at  the ceiling, a now very awake Jennifer Lindley let out an infuriated sigh and sat up "Ugh! When will this stop?!"

"What was that all about?" Dawson asked half- asleep.

"I thought you were asleep." replied a startled Jen.

"I was."

"Yeah," she chuckled "me too."

"What are they fighting over now?" Dawson glanced at the small clock on the bedside table "-at one o' clock in the morning."

"I don't know. Joey was babbling so fast I couldn't understand a word. Their stereo was practically blaring… and I think those were pots clanging…You're friends have serious problems Dawson."

"Suddenly they're just _my _friends."

"You met them first."

"They've been like that all our lives but they can't stay away from each other. It's a cycle- you know that. They'd fight, fall in love, separate- on many occasions apparently because of me, then meet again, fight, fall in love... One of these days they'll have to stop but until then…"

"Until then I'd have to endure sleepless nights. Lord! I thought I was finally over that when Amy turned three- and that was two years ago!  I know I said I find their relationship cute and I am all for them 'discovering on their own' but this is getting out of hand and you've got to do something about it Dawson."

"Me, could you give me a valid reason why I should?" 

"Because when they fight they bother me and you're going to do me this favor because you owe me; you would still be a virgin if it weren't for me." 

"Now, that is an interesting theory Jennifer. Alright, I'm gonna talk to Pacey tomorrow and you handle Joey." 

"Thank you!" squealed Jen sighing with relief. "Go back to sleep."

"Where are you going?"

"I have to drug myself to sleep."


	2. The Trouble With Love Is

Chapter 2 

Jen Lindley stood by the corner of the street waiting for Audrey to pick her up. They were going to the apartment Joey shared with Pacey. Her head was still pounding due to her lack of sleep. She laughed to herself thinking about Joey's call last night. Who would have thought that she would be the one Joey would call about her boyfriend problems? It didn't seem so long ago when they fought over a boy. Jen was taking a sip from her coffee cup when Audrey's red convertible stopped in front of her      

"Hi!" Jen greeted Audrey as she jumped into her car. "Thanks for picking me up." 

"No problem. What are you doing in the office on a Saturday anyway?"

"I just had to meet with a client to finalize the date and location of her wedding." Jen was now working as an event's planner. "So you wanna tell me what happened last night before we meet Joey?"

"I'll be gad to. So, Joey found Pacey in a restaurant having dinner with some woman. It turns out she was some old girlfriend back in high school-"

"Wait, girlfriend in high school, you mean Andie? I thought she's in Italy?"

"No, not Andie. I think her name was…um…Tamara."

"Tamara who? Tamara…Tama- oh my god! Tamara Jacobs, Ms. Jacobs! She was our teacher in high school! So it was all true, all the rumors…oh my god.

"She was a teacher?…Why am I not surprised? Never mind. So anyway, when they got home Joey asked him why they were having dinner together. Apparently, Pacey just shrugged and when she asked if he was cheating on her he neither confirmed nor denied anything. So they get into this fight and she throws him out. I thought she called you last night?"

"She did but I didn't understand a word. Wait- Again? She threw him out again?"

"Why are you even surprised Lindley?"

"I'm not surprised Audrey; I'm just fascinated that they have managed to keep this up years, almost a decade now, after high school." 

***********

Twenty minutes later. 

"Just tell him to come home Jo-"

"Jen I'm not going to be one of those girls who begs him to come back after I see him with that…that …woman."

"I doubt they're anything other than friends." Audrey commented then added "He did not say he's been seeing her."

"Well, I'm not going to wait for him to slap me in the face with it."

"Joey, this is Pacey we're talking about." Audrey reasoned "If he were some other guy, if he were Charlie Todd, Eddie, Professor Wilder, or for heaven's sake Dawson-" Audrey glances at Jen "Sorry honey, no offense meant."

"no offense taken." Jen replies smiling.

"Good. Anyway," Audrey continues "as I was saying, if he were some other guy I would have told you to drop him _but_ this is Pacey we're talking about, the love of your life, the guy who is crazy in love with you."   

"but I can't just drop the subject." Joey says trying to defend herself "they say that sometimes you get in too deep in a relationship that you forget to keep your head above the waters and I don't want that for me." 

"so that's what it's all about" Jen blurts out smiling. "of course it is. I mean we all saw it but it took the brilliant Joey Potter up 'til now to discover."

"what in the world are you talking about?" Joey asked 

"well being Joey Potter, you like being in control of your life. Everything has to happen just as you planned it. Relationships are hard to manage and it can get in the way of your plans. So you developed a strategy to not be in a relationship. You end it right before they start by choosing guys who are totally wrong for you so you won't feel guilty later on when you get rid of the poor guy if ever the relationship goes too far."

"This should be interesting" Audrey butts in and Joey rolls her eyes

"How did I come to such a conclusion? Right." Jen continues "Lets take Dawson- apparently your first love but you wanted him when he was too scared to do anything else with you other than watch E.T. in his bedroom. And remember Drew, the spoiled rich kid? There also was Charlie Todd the player,-we'll cover Pacey later- you knew all about his reputation but I believe that only attracted you more to him. Then came along Professor Wilder- the forbidden one but of course that only made you want him more. And of course who could forget Eddie- the guy who had so many insecurities he might as well been Sigmund Freud's best bud. Anyway, then you come across Pacey. He was pretty much you're average screw up. He was the town loser and it did help that he picked on you a lot. So you subconsciously said 'why not? He'd be easy to get rid off after I use him for sex' but it all backfires because you find yourself liking him _a lot_ so you run to Dawson and managed to screw up your relationship with Pacey."

"I would like to add my personal opinion to that" Audrey says "If you ask me it simply means your relationships, with men in particular, thrive in pain- you know hurting the one you love. This could've resulted from your relationship with you're father; it's not your fault. Come to think of it, your relationship with Pacey seems to be masochistic. I mean you are the only people I know off who gets so turned on by bantering. Frankly, that freaks me out a bit."

"Thank you to you two for making me feel like a psychological freak."

"Joey," Jen continues, "what I'm trying to say is that you found the one for you. Pacey makes you feel completely helpless and you're not used to that; I think that's why you always run away. You try to regain control but you can't because the mere sight of him makes you weak in the knees. So you try to fight it. You try to  get rid of him by using even his minor slip ups to justify it. You are as stubborn as he is, that's why even after ten years of a non- continuous relationship with each other, the two of you are right where you were back in high school. Joey Potter finally fell in love- and you don't know what to do about it." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Pacey is sitting in one of the booths in a diner. He looks at his watch and impatiently drums his fingers on the table. He takes a sip from his coffee and just then, he sees Dawson. "Hey man, what took you so long?"

"Sorry," Dawson replied as he took off his coat and sat down on the chair opposite Pacey "I was in a meeting and couldn't get out. Thanks for waiting."

"No problem D, anything to help a friend. Okay, let's start, do you have the papers?"

"What papers? Oh, right, the papers. I…uh…I don't have them."

"Dawson, if we're gonna talk about investing you're money somewhere, you gotta show me you're assets." Pacey says in a matter-of-factly tone.

"I know. Okay Pace, the truth is…" Dawson's voice trailed off as he took a deep breath "I don't want your advice about stocks."

"Look, Dawson, I'm sorry I lost your money in the market before but –" Pacey stops mid- sentence when Dawson cuts him off.

"I'm not mad about that anymore Pacey and that's not what I want to talk to you about."

"What are you-" Pacey wasn't able to finish his sentence again and realizes why Dawson wanted to meet up. Pacey's  mood changes quickly with this. "Of course. I should have realized from the start that you wouldn't want advice about money- matters from an ex-broker." Pacey looks at Dawson and he sees the seriousness in Dawson's eyes. He looks out the window and smiles in a you-got-me sort of way.

"Pacey, you gotta stop doing this."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"You're right, I do and I don't wanna talk about it now." Pacey becomes irritated at this point.

"You're gonna stop this sooner or later and it might as well be sooner because you two have something special if only you'll open you're eyes to it and it would be a shame if you miss out on something so wonderful. You love her Pacey. She's you're entire world and I can tell you are her entire world too." 

Pacey shrugs and gives a sarcastic smile. "That's pretty good crap Dawson. It's crap, but good crap. So tell me Dawson, is that some line you're writing for Sam and Colby?"

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing. I'm outta here." Pacey puts down a few bills on the table for the coffee and sandwich he ordered earlier, stands up, and was about to grab his coat.

"You're going to lose her." Dawson was certain those words would stop Pacey in his tracks and it did. Now, Pacey was just staring out the window. "Sit down." Dawson grabbed the opportunity to make Pacey stay and it surprisingly worked. Pacey sat back down quietly on the same spot he had earlier. "I know for a fact that you are not cheating on Joey with Tamara Jacobs but just for the record, are you?" Dawson could see the surprise in Pacey's face at the mention of Ms. Jacobs' name. Pacey however, remained silent; he didn't even ask how he found out about the 'Tamara Jacobs' incident' and in Dawson's mind, this was enough confirmation that he was not cheating on Joey. "I thought so. Why didn't you just tell her that? If you did, you won't be having this fight."

"So its my fault again, is it?" Pacey broke his long silence. "What about her? She was practically shoving Tamara down my throat. It was as if she actually wished that I was cheating on her. She never backs down and she always, _always _have to win."

"That does sound like Joey _and _someone else I know." Dawson grinned at Pacey. Pacey knew that the someone else Dawson was talking about was him but he wasn't as amused as Dawson. "This isn't about Tamara Jacobs is it? I bet this isn't even about Joey's outburst or her unyieldingness.  This is something bigger than you, bigger than Joey."

"Okay Dawson, I'll play along. What, in your genius mind, do you fathom is it?" Dawson did not answer. "Look man, I really have to go. Unlike some people, I do have a real meeting to go to. But thanks D- for giving me a laugh." Pacey was smirking when he stood up and left.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, now I know how not getting reviews make some people feel. I'll tell you, it doesn't make me feel all fuzzy inside. If anybody's reading my story PLEASE REVIEW. Just tell me what you guys think. I'll deeply appreciate it. J 

 Chapter 4

  It's Saturday evening and Jen, Dawson, Jack, and Audrey have just finished eating dinner at Dawson's house which he shares with Jen and Amy. They were gathered in the kitchen, talking while Dawson was washing the dishes.

"I told you neither of them would come." Jack told Jen referring to Pacey and Joey. 

"I wonder why. Do you think they suspected anything?"

"Suspect anything?" Audrey responded "Hello, we've only done the exact same thing only a million times before. Everytime they'd fight we'd set up a dinner, invite Joey and tell her Pacey wouldn't come then we'd invite Pacey and tell him Joey wouldn't come. I mean, how long did you exactly think will they fall for the same routine."

"I was hoping forever. Anyway, what are we gonna do now? Audrey does have a point, they're pretty smart people."

"We're not gonna do anything. Don't you think we've meddled enough?" Dawson said. "We tried and they wouldn't budge. As you said, they're smart people; they'll figure it out by themselves."  

"As we've been doing this last ten years. If we leave them on their own, it's gonna take them ten more years." Jen said defending her side.

"Just because our plan didn't work out doesn't mean we should stop trying. It simply means its time Plan B." Audrey's voice was optimistic.

"First of all, our Plan didn't fail. Your Plan did. And second, we do not have a Plan B." Dawson's voice sounded like a father- figure, he was surprised himself. 

"Aren't you a little worried? We're playing with fire here." Jack warned. "What if they're really just not ready? Meddling with fate's affairs can backfire."

"Of course they're ready" Jen said. " and no, we're not messing up anything destined in the stars. We're just fast tracking things."

"I don't know Jen.it still is Joey and Pacey's business, not ours." Dawson commented.

"Here, here." Jack said in support of  Dawson 

"Oh c'mon you guys," Audrey said whining "You sound more like chickens. I mean Jack, you're gay and Dawson, don't you think up things like these for The Creek? I mean, you two, of all people, should be open to these sort of things."

"I don't know Audrey. What if that old cliché is true: familiarity breeds contempt. Maybe they've been in this stagnant relationship for so long, they're already tired of it." Jack said 

"That's exactly what we're gonna help them out on; we're gonna make it a. non- stagnant relationship. And besides, they've hated each other even before they met so that can't be it." Jen was running out of arguments. 

"Jack could be right." Audrey said not lifting her eyes from the donut she was picking on.

"Not you too." Jen said in exasperation. "I thought you were on my side."

"But." Audrey spoke as if not hearing Jen's complaint "What about the other cliché?"

"What are you talking about?" Dawson said finishing up cleaning the counter tops.

"What if, just if,  absence does make the heart grow fonder?"

"Are you trying to say anything Audrey?" A smile began creeping up Jen's face and it was apparent that Dawson and Jack got a little worried.

"It's time to change our strategy. Okay guys, this is what I'm thinking" Audrey said and Jack rolled his eyes. "Just hear me out."

"Just as long as it doesn't involve doing a crazy ritual dance you picked up from one of your travels."

"So does that mean you're all in?" Audrey's smile never left her face. 


End file.
